Normalizing Children’s Mental Health

 “Your child’s mental health is more important than their grades. Let them be little. Let them be creative. Let them play often. In short, let them be children.”
– Unknown

This quote captures how important it is to normalize mental health for children. 

As a child, I’m sure you can remember how a band aid to dress a skinned knee or elbow provided comfort. It is such a normal experience that can be a huge support for a young child. 

The same can be said for those times when your children need emotional support for injuries that are not apparent or even visible. The feelings your child experiences through their display of emotions should be normalized and viewed in a similar fashion. 

I often remind or teach parents how important it is to normalize their child’s feelings because just like adults, they get mad, frustrated, or anxious, and every other human emotion. 

As a part of my therapy work with children, I consult with the parent(s) on goals they have for their child and often the response I hear is:
 “I just want my kid to be happy.” 

Generally speaking, that is a fair statement as many of us DO want to be happy, but what does this imply about validating other feelings? Happiness is not a goal in and of itself; it’s the feeling that accompanies an achieved goal. 

Wanting your kids to be and feel happy isn’t a bad thing, but there are better goals that can set your kids up for emotional success, especially when we teach them the skills of emotional regulation. 

This gives children a healthy way to experience, feel, and work through their emotions in a productive way that helps them find their happiness, but also honors the flux of emotions we experience daily. 

What Does Therapy Look Like For Kids? 

Connecting with children so they feel safe to express their feelings can take some creative engineering. 

Unlike adults, they can’t just sit down and dive right into their trauma or tap into their deep emotions. This doesn’t mean they aren’t capable, it just means that therapists have to utilize a certain and deliberate skill set to achieve those things. And let’s be honest, this is sometimes hard for adults to do.

For children, we can do this through child-centered talk therapy, play therapy, art therapy, and music therapy, creating an environment where kids can just be kids. In doing so, they can be creative, imaginative, and problem solve while we tap into their verbal and non-verbal cues to help direct the session. 

Talk Therapy 

Talk therapy can be helpful when children can talk through some of their difficulties, allowing them to process feelings and even develop solutions for handling a problem. In these sessions, therapists will likely use simplified vocabulary, melodic pitch and intonation, and repetitive questioning in their approach to help the child reach their goals. 

Play Therapy 

Play therapy is exactly what you imagine that it is. We play! We can learn so much about a child just through observing them play. With familiar toys and objects, we can create a safe therapeutic environment where children can express their feelings and thoughts. This approach is very interpersonal and opens windows of opportunity for therapists to build trust and rapport with the child. Play therapy can be used to help children reach a variety of goals, such as the development of self-esteem and coping skills. This is helpful in younger children who are still learning how to communicate and name feelings. 

Play therapy, art therapy, and music therapy can also be beneficial for high complex cases since it is often the processing of the event that is not able to be verbalized by a young child. Working through play, themes of pain or abuse may become present, where the therapist is able to support the child in working through processing trauma through reciprocating play. 

Likewise, art or music may help the child express their repressed feelings about the trauma rather than talking about it. Art therapy can involve drawing or painting emotions, creating an emotion wheel, making a meditative painting, and other art therapy interventions.  Music therapy can involve children playing instruments, singing songs, music and movement, improvising to music (on various instruments), and other interventions using music. 

What Do Children Go To Therapy for?

Truthfully, it is common for children to struggle with mental health issues like: 

• Anxiety, 
• ADHD, 
• Behavioral problems, and 
• Depression 

Anxiety

Incidence: The CDC reports that about 9% of children ages 3-17 have been diagnosed with anxiety. 

Symptoms: 

• Panic attacks, 
• Quick breathing, 
• Obsessive thinking, and 
• Avoiding social situations. 

These issues can lead to poor school attendance and difficulties in social settings.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) 

Incidence: About 10% of children from the ages of 3-17 have been diagnosed with ADHD. 

Symptoms: 

• Excessive talking, 
• Fidgeting, 
• Distractibility, and 
• Inattention. 

Symptoms can cause difficulties in school and a general feeling of not enjoying school. Furthermore, these behaviors (if untreated), can last into adulthood and affect their work environment.

Behavioral Issues 

Incidence: About 9% of 3 to 17-year-olds have behavioral issues that are significant enough to get a formal diagnosis for their behavioral issues. 

Types: 

• Adjustment disorder, 
• Oppositional Defiant Disorder, 
• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), or 
• Conduct Disorder. 

According to the CDC, these diagnoses can be intensified if the child is exposed to violence, crime or neglect.

Depression

Incidence: According to the CDC, about 4% of 3 to 17-year-olds were diagnosed with depression. 

Symptoms:

• Depressive episodes where the person is less interested in their favorite activities, 
• Changes in their sleep patterns, and 
• Increased irritability.

Complex Issues

Children can also unfortunately experience more complex issues, although these are not as common or frequent. These include: 

• PTSD or trauma due to sexual assault, 
• Natural disaster, 
• Loss, 
• Molestation, 
• Eating problems, 
• Visual impairments, 
• Hearing impairments, 
• Bathroom issues, 
• Learning disorders (such as dyslexia), 
• Involuntary movements, or tics, 
• Schizophrenia, or distorted thoughts and feelings.

Helping Our Kids

Children are the future of our world and are so resilient to the fast paced changes that occur around them; however, we have to create healing spaces where a child can grow and effectively regulate themselves with assistance from adults and therapists. 

At Calming Waters, every child who steps in our practice is validated and supported. It is through our shared view that we continue to advocate the importance of normalizing children’s mental health. 

Many of our providers work with children on many of the mental health issues described in this blog. If you feel your child could benefit from our services, please use our Contact page to get in touch with us. We will work collaboratively with your family to make sure that your child is able to navigate through their struggles with confidence and with tools that they can use throughout their lives. 

Looking For More Resources?

You can also check out this link to National Children’s Mental Health Week:
National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day | SAMHSA